NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Zion Williamson scored 25 points, Brandon Ingram added 21, and the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Sacramento Kings 117-112 on Wednesday night.
Both New Orleans stars made pivotal plays late to put the Pelicans in front for good en route to their second straight victory and fourth in five games.
After Williamson powered through multiple defenders in the paint to spin in a layup off the glass, Ingram stole De’Aaron Fox’s pass, broke the other way in transition and pulled up for a mid-range jumper that made it 113-108 with 1:37 left. And in the final minute, Ingram used a screen by Williamson to set up a soaring layup down the lane to make it 115-110. The Kings needed 15 seconds for Fox to get a shot off that pulled them within 115-112 with just a second left.
Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans, who also beat the Kings in New Orleans on Monday night. Jordan Hawkins added 13 points and Naji Marshall 12 points.
Fox finished with a game-high 26 points. Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and nine rebounds for Sacramento, and Harrison Barnes added 22 points.
New Orleans missed 23 of 30 3-point attempts. But they made up for that by outscoring the Kings 62-28 in the paint.
The Pelicans began the fourth quarter with a 93-79 lead, but saw that erased in the span of four minutes, during which the Kings went on a 18-4 run.
Trey Lyles ignited the surge with three 3-pointers. Malik Monk’s 3 from 25 feet out cut it to 97-95 and Davion Mitchell’s free throws tied it to set up a back-and-forth final eight minutes.
Williamson scored 17 in the first half and his driving layup late in second quarter gave New Orleans its largest lead at 17.
Sasha Vezenkov’s 3 cut it to 64-50 at halftime.
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